Mr North said: "Wow. It's probably the first time I am genuinely speechless. I did not expect it but I did want it. Against such tough competition it's an absolute priviledge. On my way up to the stage I probably repeated the name of my company 20 times."

Noel Quinn, head of UK commercial banking at HSBC, said: "In Richard, on one side we clearly saw energy, creativity, enthusiasm. On the other, his execution was exceptional and his ambition was phenomenal."